''Lecania sessilisoraliata'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is found on rock outcrops in the mountainous Burdur region of Turkey.

Taxonomy

The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2017 by lichenologists

André Aptroot André Aptroot (Heemskerk, 1961) is a Dutch mycologist and lichenologist. In 1993 he did his PhD at the University of Utrecht under the supervision of Robbert Gradstein (nl). His dissertation was titled "Systematic studies on pyrenocarpous li ...

and Kenan Yazıcı. The type specimen, collected by the second author near Esirlik village ( Bucak, Burdur) at an altitude of , was found growing on calcareous rock. The species is only known to occur in Turkey, usually on limestone. The species epithet refers to the characteristic sessile soralia (i.e., vegetative

propagule In biology, a propagule is any material that functions in propagating an organism to the next stage in its life cycle, such as by dispersal. The propagule is usually distinct in form from the parent organism. Propagules are produced by organisms ...

s without a stem, stalk, attached to the thallus surface).

Description

The crust-like thallus of ''Lecania sessilisoraliata'' is pale olivaceous brown to pale olivaceous green and measures up to in diameter. The crust thickness is greatest at its centre, about 1–2 mm. The crust comprises smaller

areoles In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cactus, cacti out of which grow clusters of Thorns, spines, and prickles, spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cactus, cacti, and identify them as a family distinct fr ...

crowded together, each measuring 0.2–0.6 mm in diameter. Whitish

soralia Soredia are common reproductive structures of lichens. Lichens reproduce asexually by employing simple fragmentation and production of soredia and isidia. Soredia are powdery propagules composed of fungal hyphae wrapped around cyanobacteria o ...

are raised above the level of the thallus and are sessile; they are largely crowded towards the thallus centre measuring up to 0.8–1 mm in diameter. The soredia are granular, each measuring 30–50

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

in diameter. The

asci ASCI or Asci may refer to: * Advertising Standards Council of India * Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy * Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative * American Society for Clinical Investigation * Argus Sour Crude Index * Association of ...

contains eight spores and are of the ''

Bacidia ''Bacidia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Giuseppe De Notaris in 1846. Species in the genus are crust-like lichens with stemless apothecia; they have green algae (chloroccoid) as p ...

''-type, with dimensions of 8.5–12 by 25.5–30 μm. Ascospores are

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

in shape with a single

septum In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; plural septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Human anatomy * Interatri ...

, and measure 8.5–9.8 by 2.4–3.1 μm.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107904848 Ramalinaceae Lichen species Lichens described in 2017 Lichens of Western Asia Taxa named by André Aptroot